Austin in Travis County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Swedish Consulate and Swante Palm Library

By Keith Peterson, September 30, 2007

1. Swedish Consulate and Swante Palm Library Marker

Inscription. Swante Palm (1815-1899), Vice Consul for Sweden and Norway from 1866 until his death, built a small house on Ash Street (now 9th Street) in the 1850s. It was a repository for Palm’s extensive book collection and served as the Swedish Consulate, where Palm gave assistance to many Swedish immigrants. To accommodate his ever-growing library, Palm enlarged the house in 1879. He donated his 10,000-volume collection to the University of Texas Library in 1897, increasing the school’s holdings by more than sixty percent. Palm’s house was razed in 1958.

Erected 1991 by the Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 14680.)

Location. 30° 16.251′ N, 97° 44.505′ W. Marker is in Austin, Texas, in Travis County. Marker is at the intersection of Congress Avenue and East 9th Street, on the right when traveling south on Congress Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Austin TX 78701, United States of America.

Also see . . . A Guide to the Swante Palm Papers, 1834-1897. The University of Texas at Austin holds a collection of the papers of Swante Palm. Included on this website is a short biography. (Submitted on December 26, 2009.)

Credits. This page was last revised on September 12, 2016. This page originally submitted on December 20, 2009, by Keith Peterson of Cedar Park, Texas. This page has been viewed 735 times since then and 22 times this year. Photo1. submitted on December 20, 2009, by Keith Peterson of Cedar Park, Texas. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.

Editor’s want-list for this marker. Wide area view of the marker and its surroundings. •
Vintage photo of the house prior to its razing in 1958. • Can you help?